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Police arrested the mother of two children whose bodies were discovered in a Santa Ana hotel room after the woman apparently tried to kill herself in a nearby city. Jane Yamamoto reports from Santa Ana for NBC4 News at 11 p.m. on Sept. 14, 2013. (Published Sunday, Sept. 15, 2013)

The woman accused of killing her two children and leaving their bodies in a Southern California hotel room has been identified as a 42-year-old resident of Scottsdale, Ariz.

Police were investigating on Sunday why Marilyn Edge was in Southern California when she allegedly killed her two children, left their bodies in a hotel room and then tried to kill herself.

Edge was in jail on murder charges in connection with killing her son and daughter, ages 13 and 10, respectively, officials said. Their bodies were found Saturday morning in a third-floor room of a Santa Ana hotel, officials said.

She was expected to appear in court on Tuesday.

Edge allegedly told police about the children after she crashed her car about 8 a.m. in an apparent suicide attempt behind a Costa Mesa supermarket, police said.

When officers arrived, she refused to come out of the car and attempted to strangle herself with an electrical cord, police said.

She intentionally crashed her gray Honda Accord with a Georgia license plate into an electrical box with propane tanks in her front seat, but the propane did not ignite, Costa Mesa police said.

"It was clear that it was an intentional act," Costa Mesa Sgt. Tim Starn told the Associated Press.

Officers had to smash out one of the side windows to get her out.

While being taken to a hospital, the woman apparently told police about the children in the hotel, police said.

Police wouldn't disclose how the children died until a coroner's investigation is complete, but there were no signs the children were shot or stabbed, said Cpl. Anthony Bertagna, a Santa Ana Police Department spokesman.